


The Adder Stone

by ball-point-pencils (MJBlack13)



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Dream Therapy, Fluff and Angst, Hoshido | Birthright Route, Lots of Cuddling, M/M, Magic, Original Plot Device, Valla - Freeform, Weird Plot Shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-06-04 19:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6671131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MJBlack13/pseuds/ball-point-pencils
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When dual curses intertwine their fates, the second princes of Nohr and Hoshido must work together to break an unbreakable spell. But how far would they go to fix each other?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Takumi

For the third time this week, Ryoma and Corrin were arguing. The War Council had been summoned only moments ago, Corrin calling them in to discuss an unexpected development in Southern Macarath, but everyone knew full well there wasn’t going to be much discussion as there would be discourse. Takumi sat in the corner of the ornate room, the polished wood glistening in the lamplight of Kamui's lantern, his arms crossed over his chest.

“If an attack hits the city there will be no survivors Ryoma, and you know that!”

“We don’t have time to intrude on another battle between Nohrians. We can hardly hold our own troops together let alone theirs' as well.”

“If Leon and the army is headed for the city, we can’t just do nothing! We’d be no better than the people slaughtering them!”

Kamui was bent over the map on the table, every move they made casting shadows across the room, the lantern shaking in their clutch. Sakura sat next to them, her rob against her chest, her eyes darting between the two generals. Every so often, it looked like she was going to say something, her mouth opening, but then quickly shutting once they started yelling again. On the other side of the room sat Hinoka, staring at the map at Ryoma's side, her face bent in concentration as scanned it. Takumi sat at the front of the table, glaring at the two of them. He’d been called out of practice to come here, and he’d rather be standing out there being used as a target than sitting in this room. Everyone knew better than to intrude on Kamui and Ryoma’s arguments, knowing it would only lead to more issues being brought up, more reasons for their voices to echo around the midnight colored tiles of the war room. 

“If we slaughter our own men we won’t be able to be better than them,” Ryoma said, his face as solid as stone. He hadn't flinch when Kamui had yelled, standing over the table on the other side of them, his shoulders high and tense, the way he always got when he was bent on standing his ground. Takumi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, hoping that he might notice, but his gaze was fixed on Kamui.

“Then- Then we have to find some way to stop them!” Kamui said, in a fit of frustration slamming the lantern back onto the table. Sakura jumped, retreating into the back of her hood. 

“We’ve already seen Leon’s power. There would be a struggle involved. Our men could be killed just as easily as the other Nohrians. If you can find a way to stop him, I may reconsider my statement of neutrality, but if you cannot, then we have no reason to discuss this further,” Ryoma said.

Takumi was feeling more sick to his stomach with each passing second. This was how it always was. Ever since Kamui had made their grand return from Nohr, the great royal finally come back to their homeland, Takumi had hardly been looked at twice, let alone been part of the war effort. He used to be the one arguing with Ryoma, making the plans, his voice the loudest in the room. He used to be the one at the front of the map, the one leading the fight, the one people looked up to. The strong one in the family. Things were different now. Now Hinoka listened when Kamui went on and on about the kindness of the Nohrians, letting the lance she'd used to kill hundreds of them fall to her side. Sakura asked them if they could teach her how to hold a sword, wanting to fight just as much as the other soldiers did. Ryoma looked to them as his second in command, telling Takumi to go practice his archery whenever he spoke up. That’s where he was needed most. 

That’s only where he was needed. 

The more they talked, the more he wanted to shout, anger starting to bubble in his chest, stemming from what felt like black fire in his heart. The world was turned upside down, this Nohrian advocating for a cause they’d never even been a part of. And now this Prince had the audacity to show up and destroy more towns, only giving Kamui more chances to shine like the diamond everyone saw them as. Before he knew what he was doing, he was opening his mouth, the first thing springing to his mind tumbling from his throat like over boiled kettle water.

“We could use the Adder Stone.”

Those words alone seemed to freeze the room, the tension suddenly snapping to a knot, a tight wire hanging between his lips and the rest of them. Everyone turned to look at him, silence engulfing Kamui's rebuttal. Takumi didn’t take his eyes off the table, but the feeling of the gazes upon him made his hair stand on end.

“Takumi, are you insane?” Hinoka said after a moment. He shot her a look. The mention of the insanity was enough to make him shutter, that word only bringing up memories of the fight in the village, but he held his stare, his mouth feeling dry.

“ _No._ In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no purple smoke coming out of my ears anymore,’ Takumi snapped, “Is it really such a shock to voice my opinion now?’

Hinoka’s eyes flitting over his face, trying to read him as if he were that map in front of her, figuring out the best course of action to deal with him. A problem that had to be solved. Takumi’s chest felt tight, but she sat back, sighing under her breath.

“…I didn’t mean it like that,’ she said.

“Of course you didn’t,” Hs said, more venom in his words then he had intended.

“Watch your tone, baby brother,” Hinoka said.

“Back off, Princess," Takumi growled.

“Knock it off you two,” Ryoma said, the harshness of his words making them both shut up. Takumi turned to snap something at him, but immediately stopped when he saw the look in his face. 

“Under no circumstances are we to use the Adder Stone, unless under extreme conditions. You know that, Takumi," Ryoma said.

“This situation seems pretty extreme to me,” Takumi said, “That bastard of a Prince has been on a rampage ever since Kamui came here. We have to take him out sooner or later.”

“Not with the Stone.”

‘But it’s the easiest way!” Takumi shouted, “It will minimize the causalities of both sides! All we have to do is-“

_“Not. With. The Stone.”_

Takumi bit down on his lip, his hands clenching in his lap.

“Wait- Wait-,” Kamui stuttered, stopping their conversation, “What’s ‘the Adder Stone’?”

“It’s nothing,” Ryoma said, dismissing the question, “We shouldn’t even be discussing the possibility of using it.”

“No, I want to know,” Kamui straightened themselves, looking at him, “I’m part of your family now. You can share things like this with me. I won’t go running back to Prince Xander to spill your secrets.”

Ryoma pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing, but before he could say anything Hinoka spoke up, turning in her chair to face them.

“It’s a magical artifact that we found in on one of our scouting missions,” She said, “Yukimara identified it as having a strong resistance to magic. So strong that if it came in in contact with any sort of mage, it could be used to-“

“Exorcise,” Takumi finished. 

“We are not going to use that on anyone right now,” Ryoma said, “It is kept safe from the wrong hands in our custody, only to be used absolutely necessary. This is far from necessary.”

“And what? We’re going to let that Prince just destroy another village?” Takumi said, his voice rising, “We know magic is his biggest weapon. If we could get rid of that we could-“

‘It’s inhumane,” Ryoma said, “And we cannot show it’s existence that easily. Not on a Prince even you yourself look down upon. It would be like using gunpowder on a cockroach.”

“Perfect,” Takumi sneered, crossing his arms to match Ryoma’s pose, “I say we do it. Leaving him as a threat will only put us at a disadvantage. You’ve seen what his kind has done to us. To Kamui! We have to take out as many of them as possible before it comes back to bite us!”

“Silence,” Ryoma shouted, “This is not your decision. Neither is it mine. Kamui knows Prince Leon better than anyone. Kamui knows Prince Leon better than anyone here. If you really think that this is an option, Kamui can decide what to do with him. He was their brother at a time. I do not wish to make decisions against her family without their willing consent.”

Kamui looked pale, standing against the quiet that drifted over the room. Despite the stares that met their eyes, Kamui remained calm, their jaw set. Takumi looked at them with pleading eyes. Please let him do this. Please let him use it please let him prove that he could do something-

“…Will it kill him?” Kamui said after a long pause.

“…No, but the pain inflicted on him will be as worse as death.” Ryoma said.

Kamui shut their eyes, sighing through their nose.

“That doesn’t matter,” Takumi growled, frustration building in his chest.

“Of course it matters,” Ryoma said, “Nohrian or not that boy is still human.”

“Well the Nohrians obviously didn’t share that humanitarian mentality when they killed our mother.”

He hadn’t meant it to come out that way. The wound of their mother’s death was still new, and the mention of it caused to Hinoka snap around in her chair. Sakura made a small sound, tears brimming in her eyes, clutching her rod tighter to his chest, and that was the last straw for Ryoma. His brother took a step towards him, glaring down at him the way he used to when they were kids, a burning kind of anger flickering in his eyes.

“Leave Takumi.” He hissed.

“Ryoma-“

“Take a walk and cool your head!” Ryoma said, “I've had enough of your nonsense. Whatever magic possessed you must have also clouded your judgement."

"Brother-"

_"Leave. That's an order as your commander."_

Takumi felt cold, a horrible sense of shame and anger clutching at his heart, flushing into his face. He opened his mouth to say something else, but the look in Ryoma’s eyes told him not to dare speak another word. He let in a shaking breath, putting up his chin before turning on his heel, storming out into the downpour outside, the shadows swallowing up his form, the tent wall flapping behind him.

_______________________

The whole camp was either asleep or sheltering from the rain; Takumi walking passed empty shops and buildings, only candlelight visible within the frost-covered windows. The magical dimension Lilith had created was built to resemble Hoshido down to the smallest detail, but never felt like home to him. The castle around him felt trapping, especially now, the once rolling planes replaced with swirling clouds of dust and stars beyond the bricks, the town seeming artificial, as if he were surrounded by the plastered walls of a dollhouse. He pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes, not sure where he was going, just knowing that he had to get as far away from the war room as possible. The news of his outburst would probably reach the camp by morning, the story of Prince Takumi’s deranged mind making figurative headlines in the mess hall. He didn’t want to be stared at again.

The target range was still open, left unattended by those who had fled from the sudden storm, some of the bows still lying strewn around the wooden floor. Takumi swore under his breath, cursing their stupidity, picking up a few off the floor and setting them up on the wall again. Some of these soldiers had no respect for the bow. The wind cut through the long grass in front of him, the gale catching in his ponytail and pulling his ribbon free from his hair. It flew across the field, hooking onto one of the nails sticking out of the targets. Takumi mumbled to himself, feeling no urge to go and get it, his unkempt hair whipping around his face. Instead, he plucked an arrow from a quiver next to him, twirling it in his hand to occupy himself. 

The red circle painted on the target was dripping down the white canvas, the paint still fresh, drops rolling down into the grass, and an image briefly flashed through his head of blood gushing from a man’s shoulder. The memory of a nightmare he'd had a night ago. Men lying dead in the square, buildings crumbled around him, the statues in the courtyard strewn about the ground, and lying in the center of it all was his mother, blood pooling in a circle around her, the same blood staining the mouth of a giant dragon he once was told to call his family. 

Without hesitation, Takumi took a bow off the rack, stringing an arrow into it in a flash, sending it flying into the target in front of him.

_THUNK._

It hit his mark, trembling from the force of the shot. Takumi set his jaw, grabbing another and sending it off.

_THUNK._

It landed mere millimeters away from the first arrow, the two close enough to touch, but not enough to send it right down the middle of the stem.

_Not good enough._

He grit his teeth, about to sling another arrow into the bow, but the wood snapped as soon as he pulled it back, the head of the arrow coming off and falling to the ground, bouncing on the floor. Damn flimsy pieces of shit. He had the irrational urge to pick it up and throw it as far as he could; anger boiling in his stomach, left over from moments before, but something stopped him. The Adder Stone idea was still lingering in the back of his head, and something about the small arrowhead made him hesitate, slowly leaning down to pick it up pick it up, staring at it. 

In order for the Adder Stone’s effects to be implemented, it had to come in contact with a person’s body. It was told that in ancient times, a war king used the material of the stone to craft a sword, one that he used against the mages of the neighboring kingdom, stealing their only offense with just a swipe of his blade. The torment the mages went through was what led to the coining of the term ‘exorcism’ in the first place. The stone had been seen has a threat to the existence of mages, but even with all the kingdom's efforts to keep it secret, the type of stone was found in many other lands, a rarity among rarities, appearing in legends and stories of old before Takumi had been born. The Hoshido scouting regiment had stumbled upon it many years before, and his mother, instead of using it as a weapon, instructed the kingdom to keep it locked away, safe under their guard. Ryoma took that to heart, apparently more than Takumi knew, in charge of keeping it safe with him under his care.

Ryoma would never let him get close enough to use it on the Nohrian Prince, Takumi knowing full well he couldn’t craft a sword out of its magic without being noticed, let alone wield it properly, but as his eyes trailed over the arrow head, he began to wonder if he could possibly…

He reached for the rack of bows next to him, this time taking the Fujin Yumi from its mount on the wall, wisps of green light flowing from it as soon as his fingers wrapped around the hilt. He concentrated, willing an arrow to appear on the string as he always did, but stopping the green tendrils of light just before they created the tip. Taking the broken arrowhead, he placed it on the top of half crafted arrow, willing it to move as he wanted it to. The tendrils shifted for a moment, Takumi’s head throbbing a little as they adjusted, but eventually they complied, instead creating a sharp point at the end of the arrow as it always did, the green wisps wrapping around the end of the broken arrowhead, securing it on the front of the stem.

Once he was convinced the arrowhead was attached, he slowly lifted his arm, rain and green smoke clouding his eyes, before letting it loose.

_THWACK!_

It went straight through the arrow already embedded in the center of the target, the wood of the thin stem splitting it in half as easily as if it were a knife through butter, the Fujin's arrow immediately dissipating into green ribbons again, leaving only the arrowhead on its place.

A grin spread onto Takumi’s face, lowering the bow to his side. The idea that had been forming in his mind was already starting to solidify, the genius of it making his heart pound. He turned around, squinting through the trees to see the Records Hall, lighting cracking as it lit up the front of it. The place where the stone was kept.

This was his chance to be good enough.


	2. Leon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry finals are hard but here's the second chapter. ill try to post a little more regularly after all the test hype has gone down.

The throne room in Castle Karkenburg had always reminded him of the forests he’d read about in books was a child. The black vines that encased the furthest wall resembled the woods Little Red Riding Hood would get lost in, the strangling branches of the trees against the windows sounding like wolves trying to claw their way in. Whenever they were called to meet with their father, he would dart behind his mother’s leg, much to her displeasure, pointing at the golden pillars around them, whimpering about fangs behind the cracking paint. That fear had long since been pushed into the back of his mind, the dark no longer containing monsters, but maybe it was the howling of the wind outside, or the eerie shadows that outlined his father’s throne, that made Prince Leon see yellow eyes looming in the room around him once again.

“Do you know why I called you here?”

Lightning struck outside, the thunder as deep and demanding as King Garon’s voice. Leon stood in the center of the room, his hands clasped behind his back, balled into tight fists to keep them from moving.

“…No Father.”

He had the urge to clear his throat, hating how small he sounded, but his chest was far too tight, feeling like it would fall apart like snow if he raised his voice.

“His Majesty has stumbled upon something interesting,” Iago mused, chiming in for his father like a sparrow singing for sweets, the grin never fading from the dark pools of his face, “In one of our many conflicts with the dearly departed Nohrian royal, we discovered something interesting…”

Leon’s fingers twitched behind his back, swallowing down the tension in his throat.

“And what about it?’

“Two Hoshidan warriors were with them, a ninja and a savage girl,” Iago said, leaning over to look down at him from the top of the marble staircase, “And they bore an uncanny resemblance to the prisoners we were told were executed by _you_ , Prince Leon.”

The sense of dread that had been brewing in his stomach since he’d been summoned here reached its apex, palpable fear beginning to bloom in its place. He’d expected this day to come, even dreamt about it on some occasions. Ever since Kamui had left, night terrors plagued his mind like flies, a vision of his father finding out of his actions in the execution room, the taste of metal remaining in his mouth even after he’d pulled himself from it. Alibies had been shaping in his head ever since, an unprecedented amount of paranoia seeming to take hold around his heart. Every sound he heard in the halls outside his door made his body tense, every footfall outside one of a Nohrian guard, ready to break down his door and take him away to the cells below the ground for treason against the King. He’d hardly slept since he’d spared the Hoshidans, lying to his retainers when they asked why he had dark circles under his eyes, lying to Elise to get her to stop pestering him, lying to Marx when he asked him why he hadn't been up to date with his studies.

He had always had a talent for lying. It had started when he was young, telling little white ones to get out of trouble, shifting his words in just the right way to get an extra mouthful of bread at the dinner table or winning the favor of some adult. He’d broken a vase once because a spell gone wrong during one of his training sessions, knocking it off the pillar. He'd planned to tell him what had really happened, but when his father approached him about it, a story he’d made up about his sister stepping on her dress and stumbling into the glass fixture became just as easy to say as the truth. Of course his father had found out what had really happened when he approached Camilla, but had hardly minded it. Instead of punishing him he simply ruffled Leon’s hair, mumbling to himself about how his son was going to be a great leader someday.

It was when his father changed, becoming as cold as the god that hung on his ceiling, that lying became a necessity. His demands came in by the dozen, orders to train harder and kill faster coming from the mouth of a servant, his father never coming into to speak with them directly unless absolutely needed. His brother hadn’t minded it in the slightest, simply picking up his sword and working harder, even into the late hours of the night without question. Leon was a little more hesitant. It wasn't that he didn't want to make his father proud, but it was that he could see that there was something growing more and more off about him. Tables became cold, conversations becoming less about frivolous things and more about the war. How the fronts were. What the enemy was doing. How they could better their armies.

The only warmth had been Kamui. Kamui didn't take part in any of the talk of war, too oblivious of it all to notice what was happening, walking with a skip in their step and eyes that never ceased to be filled with wonder. Lies came out like a mechanism after that. Lies to get Kamui out of training. Lies to save Kamui from the wrath of the guards when they found they had escaped from the Castle to have a picnic. Lies to protect himself from the wandering eyes of his father, telling him that yes he was going to kill every soldier there and yes, he trusted the king’s judgement wholeheartedly. But as he stood there in the throne room, below his gaze like a moth pinned to glass, he found for the first time in his life he couldn't think of a single thing to say, his tongue stiff and dry in his mouth.

“Must we be so quick to blame the survival of the Hoshidan prisoners on Leon, Father?”

Marx, whom Leon had forgotten was standing next to him, spoke with a power Leon could have never mustered himself at the moment, not when growing panic made language muddle in his brain like alphabet soup. Thank the gods he’d insisted on coming with him. Iago’s eyes narrowed, but Marx would not be silenced.

“Iago, are you sure you saw things correctly?” He said, “The Hoshidan ninja are many. You could have easily mistaken one of them for the man that was our prisoner.”

“How could I be uncertain about such a thing?” Iago said, “I wouldn’t bring this concern to His Majesty unless I was convinced of this-“

“Do not act as if we are unaware of your powers of deception, sorcerer, ” Marx growled. Iago’s pupils turned the size of needlepoints.

‘You DARE suggest I would lie to the King of Nohr?”

“No, he’s right Marx, “ Leon said, finally collecting his senses, “I did spare the Hoshidan prisoners. He speaks the truth.”

Marx's head snapped to look at Leon as soon as he spoke, an odd mix of confusion and anger flooding onto his face, but Leon had already made up his mind to speak, shoving down the unease inside him. This was his battle, his miscalculation. He was the one who had to face his father, not Marx. It was only right. Darkness seemed to enclose around King Garon, turning down to look at him.

“Foolish boy,” King Garon said, “Are you incapable of performing a simple task?”

“Father, if you will allow me to explain,” Leon said. His mind was already starting to tick again, a lie forming on his tongue, shaking off the previous panic as he collected himself again.

“We had already executed enough prisoners that day,” he continued, ”There was no need to kill any more of them at the time. If a few lived to tell the tale about the horrors they’d be confronted with if they tried to attack Nohr, we could use them as an intimidation tactic. They had only been in the prisons, so no information would be leaked to the opposing kingdom-“

King Garon put his hand out, silencing him. Leon’s blood turned cold.

“You disobeyed my direct order. By law I should put you to death for treason of the second highest order,” King Garon said, “However, we already have had one of royal blood leave our company. Another could jeopardize the kingdom’s opinion of the stability of Nohrian Court.”

Relief washed over Leon despite himself, his hands relaxing behind his back. Of course he was able to handle this. He was Prince Leon of Nohr, master of prestidigitation. The slight of hand was no stranger to him. He didn’t even know why he was nervous in the first place.

“Thank you Father, I-“

“You are hereby forbidden to take part in this war as punishment instead.”

His heart lurched his chest, feeling the color drain from his face, the gravity of the statement hitting him with the force of a landslide. The verdict was so unexpected and cold he almost slipped and fell on the stairs behind him, feeling his mouth open in shock.

“Father-“

“If you are hesitant in making the decision to kill for the sake of your own convoluted plans, then you have no business being in a war,” King Garon said, “Orders are orders, and I will make you an example of what happens if anyone in the army breaks them. Even a foolish prince is not above my law.”

“What are you talking about?” Marx shouted, “Leon is an excellent soldier and warrior. Don’t jeopardize him for a single mistake.”

“I have no room for mistakes in my army,” King Garon said, “And one slip up already undermines us. You have already banished one of my favorite mages on your own authority, an action you forget you have no power to make.”

“Zola was a disgrace and a coward!” Marx said.

“He almost succeeded in killing the traitor Kamui and the other Hoshidans,” King Garon said, “A deed which is more than I can say for you, Prince Leon. Especially seeing as you had a hand in stopping that killing.”

“Father please-”

“Quiet. Even those peace-loving Hoshidans know how to kill. You have been nothing but an embarrassment to the kingdom. The Second Prince of the Dawn Dragon has already surpassed your capabilities with his own divine weapon. To put you on the battlefield would only be revealing our weak link in the chain.”

Everything he said scathed over him as if it were acid, Leon barely breathing, his father saying all the terrible things in a voice as monotone and lifeless as he would address a commoner. Through everything black however, he managed to latch onto one thing his father had said. The Second Prince of the Dawn Dragon. The Hoshidan Prince. The one that could send armies to the grave with the flick of his bowstring. The bow wielder that had more power in one shot than Leon had in his whole tome, the anger that burned in his eyes when Leon had first saw him still seething in his memory to this day. An idea clicked into his head just as Marx began to speak, words flooding from his mouth, stepping forward and shouting them before he could think.

“Let me prove my worth to you Father!” he shouted, “That Hoshidan Prince does not best my talents. In the name of Nohr, I will vanquish the other Hoshidan Prince. I promise you will find I am more than capable of killing.”

The king stopped, looking down at him from his position on his throne.

“The king’s decision is final,” Iago said, “Even if you could kill the second Prince, King Garon wouldn’t allow you to-“

“Silence Iago,” King Garon said. Leon swallowed, “If this boy wishes to prove himself, then let him.”

King Garon stood, the very action seeming to send shadows dancing across the wall.

“Bring me Hoshido’s Second Prince, dead, and then I will decide your fate.”

It felt like his stomach was dropped through the carpet below him, Leon only managing a nod. King Garon turned to say something to Marx, his mouth moving, but to Leon it was white noise. He had to fight the prince or be a disgrace, fight the army or die as a failure. Would he be able to do that? The red around his feet seemed to swirl, doubt flickering in his mind, yellow eyes seeming to dart in and out all around him. It took an eternity for King Garon to dismiss them, Leon bowing with Marks before turning, his back straight and still. He kept his eyes as far away from his brother as he could, afraid to hear what he would say. He hadn't told him he'd spared those prisoners The corridor outside of the throne room was empty, Leon making a sharp turn towards his chamber as soon as the iron doors closed behind them, but Marx grabbed his arm.

“Why can’t you follow simple orders like everyone else!” Marx said. Leon wrenched himself away, “It was a group of Hoshidans how could you possibly-“

“They did nothing wrong and Kamui wished to spare their lives,” Leon started, but Marx wouldn’t hear it.

“Do you really have the nerve to place the blame on the traitor?” Marx said, “Are you that easily swayed by Kamui’s words as to betray father’s direct orders?”

“I allowed them to live because they could have been an asset! We cannot go around just killing any Hoshidan that stands in our way. Kamui only suggested it.”

“Well the Hoshidans that you so kindly spared have now gone and killed one of our finest soldiers,” Marx said, “Because of your incompetence our men have died, Leon.”

He set his jaw.

“It only spared them because I was saw they were innocent Marx, that their crimes were not near deserving of death-“

“You spared them because you were _weak_!”

The words struck him hard enough to make him step back, Marx looming over him like a dark force. An uncontrollable emotion seemed to suddenly spill onto Leon’s face, his eyes starting to sting. _No._ He balled his fists, turning to look down at the floor, focusing on the cracks in the tile instead of the burning in his head. Marx's expression shifted, and he shut his eyes, letting out a long sigh before putting his hand on Leon’s shoulder.

“This war had taken a toll on all of us, Leon,” Marx said, quieter this time, “You’re one of our best mages-”

“I know,” Leon said, “I sincerely apologize for my behavior. It’s nothing like a Nohrian prince should act-“

“-However,” Marx interrupted, “I think Father’s decision to leave you out of the war may be best.”

His head hurt, his chest feeling like it was going to cave in at any second. Marx's hand wasn’t warm on his shoulder, the feeling stemming from it not so much as comfort but an attempt to give him solace. The disappointment on his face was almost too much for Leon to bear, and he pushed his hand off, struggling to speak with a lump rising in his throat.

“Marx don’t be native, you know me you’ve seen what I can do let me fight even as an ordinary soldier-“

“You are not fit for this war, especially after what you told me concerning Kamui. If you took their side once before, you could take it again. If you cannot decide where your loyalty lies, you are too volatile of a piece to be played. Who knows how many lives we’ve lost already because of your blunder.”

“Stop this, brother, please you can’t possibly-“ Leon said, but Marx was already walking in the other direction.

“I will see you tomorrow for the morning meal, then you and your retainers will remain at caste while we quash the rebellion in Macabeth. The Hoshidan soldiers are already headed towards the Woods of the Forlorn, we should be able to halt whatever progress they’ve been making there.”

_“Marx-“_

“Goodnight Leon.”

Marx's cape billowed behind him, striding down the hallway away from him, leaving Leon in his wake, hand still outstretched. His feet seemed to be glued to the floor, wanting to shout something after him, but the decision had been made so fast Leon could barely get a word out before he was gone, disappearing down the corridor, the general speaking instead of his brother. The walls around himself felt as if they were getting smaller, whether that was true or not Leon didn't know, his feet stumbling when they started to walk.

_Incompetent._

The word broke through his head like silver knives, the terrible look on both Marx's and his father’s face still burned into his mind. He was suddenly storming down the hallway, a pressure building in his chest. The hallways tangled with one another, Leon barely remembering which doors had been which, everything blurring together as he let himself start to run. The lighting flashed out one of the large glass windows, illuminating the marble hall. The library doors were covered in patterns, old and dusted from the years of use, the shiny marble now worn down to dull metal. Leon didn't waste any time in throwing them open, tripping into grand room.

_Weak._

No one ever came to library, the private room originally built to be his mother’s, but since she had died, all but the servants had forgotten its existence. The yellow gas lamps that hung on the ceiling were just about dark, shedding weak light onto the browning shelves that stretched into the furthest peak of his vision, the spines of the books he used to pour over flashing silver and gold in the night. The desks were lined up in perfect order, oil feather pens fluttering as the windows rattled, the lighting storm still raging outside. A mural was painted on the ceiling, one that depicted clouds floating across a night sky, painted stars scattering the navy of it, a single thread of a half of moon painted off to the side. This was where he had first learned what magic was. His father had taken him here often, but it was his mother who would make him read every single page in the thousands upon thousands of shelves. She told him he was to be great once he was older. That he would learn and be the most powerful in his craft. That he would win this war and make her proud.

_Failure._

The pressure that had been building at his temples reached its breaking point, his head swelling with heat. The lamp above him made a shrieking noise, shattering to pieces, tinkling on the library floor.

(calm down.)

Leon clutched his head, his own breath sounded broken and jagged in his ears. He wanted to yell, scream until his voice was raw and his throat bleeding, but he knew the pointlessness of such an action was something he didn't have the luxury to spare. Rage was heavy in his eyes, clouded his reason, making his balance unsteady. He let his knees give way, sinking against the back of one of the shelves, his chest heaving up and down against the tight hold of his armor.

This had to be a nightmare. Without his partaking in the war, he had nothing. It was worse than banishment. This was humiliation. This was the ultimate disgrace, caging him inside this castle for all of Nohr to see. He’d thought he’d been doing the right thing when he’d spared those prisoners. When he turned to see the smile on Kamui’s face, he thought for once, just once, the action could outweigh the effects of the inevitable consequences. He could lie for them, put his life on the life for them, take the burden of being accused of treason for the sake of seeing their world be a little brighter. But it all changed when Kamui left. Instead of thanking him, Kamui had left them all in the dust. Camilla never left her room, Elise wandered about Nohr unchecked, and Marx was as cruel as his father. And for the first time Leon was well and truly alone.

His head pulsed again, Leon squeezing his eyes shut as the glass globe next to him fractured, cracks forming along the mountain range between the lands of Nohr and Hoshido. Leon bit down on his lip until he tasted saltl, putting his fingers in his ears and waiting until the pressure passed, the sound of the glass breaking soon stopping.

(control yourself.)

It took a long time for him to finally pull himself together, leaning back against the shelf, his hands over his eyes. It was over, all of it was. He was no one now if he wasn’t Prince Leon the Dark Knight, no more than a figure destined to be in the back pages of a history book, fading more and more into obscurity as time passed until he was nothing more than a spot of ink. Leon brought his knees to his chest, trembles running down his spine. He couldn't do this. He couldn't defeat the Hoshidan Prince. Not on his own. He was going to lose everything.

(fix it.)

His eyes slowly rose from his knees, the voice flickering around his head like a dying candle. A little ways in front of him was the table where his mother and him used to sit, the oak now covered in a layer of dust. He could almost hear the tap of her nails against the wood, her lip twitched into a tense line, glancing from him to the broken vase that lay in pieces on the table.

(fix your mistake. no one will do it for you.)

Leon let out a breath, the lump in his throat sliding down to his stomach, but his hands slowly stopped shaking. This was his fault, his blunder that could mark the Nohrian legacy, and the only way to help himself would be to fix it. His body felt as if it were made of paper, but he rose to his feet, the ribs of his chest feeling a little more compact. Fix it. The only way to fix anything was to do it himself, prove to his father that he was worthy again, and that despite everything he could be a warrior for Nohr. That he could follow orders. That he knew how to kill. He ran his hand through his hair, using the shelf to help himself to his feet.

The main problem was the Prince himself. The Hoshidan Prince had been one of the main roadblocks in their way, stopping all of their advances, destroying all who stood in his path, his power and skill with the divine bow unmatched by any of their own archers. If Leon could kill him, or at the very least take away that damn bow from him, he could rejoin the effort. Marx's words didn't matter. If he could try and prove himself, go against the Hoshidan Prince and take away his crown, he could get his own back. He was on his feet in a moment, staggering to his desk, pushing off the papers from it.

The curious thing was how he should go about it. He had a lot of ideas, struggling to think of some spell he could use to kill the other Prince. It had to be grand, grand enough to show to his father that he was more than willing to take out Hoshidans, that he was more than willing to follow in the path of Nohr. However, he was going up against someone who also wielded a divine weapon, the Fujin Yumi’s power made very, very clear in the trail of bodies the other Prince left in his wake. This wasn't going to be easy, but frankly Leon didn't care. This was another problem he had to fix, another puzzle to solve, and he would go to any means to solve it.

The idea came on slow, Leon pacing back and forth in front of his desk until he finally, finally began to think of something. It was obvious he wouldn't be able to approach him as he normally would, the Fujin Yumi too great of a risk to underestimate . However, if he could possibly destroy his use of the Fujin, then he could overtake the Prince. Take away that weapon and he was no one. But how would he do that? What could possibly defeat the power of a god? He massaged his temples, gritting his teeth, trying to think. A few minutes later, the idea appeared so suddenly in his mind’s eye that another glass statute a little ways away popped as if it were a balloon.

If there wasn't a spell out there that he could use to defeat the Fujin, then Leon would make one. He wielded Brynhildr, a divine weapon in it of itself, and if he could create a spell with its power that could somehow break the link between him and the Fujin, the Hoshidan Prince would be open and ready to kill. Leon grabbed Brynhildr from the shelf across the way, opening up and scanning through the pages, even though something in his mind was telling him that he shouldn't be doing it. Dark magic was not something to be meddled with, the power hidden inside of it capable to bringing down angels from heaven if one so dared to try, but who cared about what happened to an angel. He wasn’t going to care about what stood in his way ever again.

He was going to kill this Prince if it was the last thing he did.


	3. River

They had been walking for a few days now, but to Takumi it felt like months. The brown of the dirt had been ingrained into his eyes, trudging through the mud with his heels dragging behind him, trying to ignore the creaking of the woods. The roots of nearby trees reached out from their stumps like hands, grabbing at the heels of his shoes, making him stumble every now and then until he learned to watch his footing. The nearest town was several miles away, and although they could use Lilith’s inter-dimensional hideaway as a place to sleep and train, the little dragon could by no means transport them anywhere they pleased. It was weighing down on everyone, the long walks making feet ache and heads hurt, the darkness that continuously shrouded Nohr doing nothing to help the feeling, the pitch only that much thicker in the Woods of the Forlorn. They had been trapped in the forest for three days, walking through the dense black without so much as a torchlight, and not once had the sun broken through the canopy of leaves to give them some relief. Takumi would never admit to it, but the eeriness was starting to get to him. He hated the dark, ever since he was little, and now it felt like walls around him, making him fidget at every sound. He nervously played with the handle of the Fujin, the winding branches of a tree blocking his path, pushing them aside to let the people behind him pass. He didn’t pay much attention to who was walking under his arm until Felicia, teary eyed and trembling, hurried past him. 

The encounter with the Ice Tribe had shaken the whole company, but the death of her sister had particularly damaged Felicia. When they left, she had cried and cried and cried until Takumi felt the urge to shove her head into nearest pillow. He didn’t need all that noise, not while he was trying to concentrate on his aim, but no matter what anybody said, she didn’t stop sobbing for a good long while. Nohrians could be desperately annoying when they wanted to. Now she slogged along in front of him, breaking into silent bursts of tears every few seconds, only stopping when Corrin came to comfort her. Takumi rolled his eyes. Leave it to Corrin to fawn over the Nohrian brat. He ducked under the next branch, this time bending it back as far as it could before letting it go, hearing a yelp when it smacked Corrin’s nose.

“Hey- Watch it!

“It was an accident,” Takumi mumbled back. He didn’t look back at them, his heart feeling like it was made of lead, and he found himself reaching into his pocket, his fingers grazing the top of a small stone nestled deep in the cloth.

He’d managed to steal it a few nights ago. Although the Records Hall was never guarded, people would get suspicious if they saw him poking around without reason. It took him a few days to work up the courage, pacing around his room and discussing the idea with himself ad nausium after initial impulse had faded. There wasn't a doubt in jis mind that he wouldn't be able to use it against the Nohrian Prince properly, but something felt wrong about it. He remembered when Orochi used to babble to him at the dinner table, explaining to him how magic was an aspect of a person’s soul. Every human was capable of using magic, but only some actually had the strength to wield it. Back before his grandmother was born, it used to be considered a great honor to be called a mage or witch, but now it was commonplace. Magic users now took this sacred and dangerous gift and used it for even the smallest things, but Orochi found it romantic that it was used so lightly. It was like wearing your soul on your sleeve, she had told him, using a part of yourself to bring people happiness or sorrow, walking into battle with your mind and heart as a weapon instead of a sword. To take it away from someone, Takumi guessed, would not be far out of line with tearing out a part of their soul. The wrongness persisted, pulling at the strings of his heart, Takumi biting his nails down to nubs. Could he do it? Could be possibly do something so taboo as to destroy a part of someone’s soul? 

Nohrians had been their aggressors ever since he had been born. They'd destroyed their fields, ruined their towns and burned their buildings to the ground. They were the enemy, the bad guys in all the stories he would read, the ones that caused all the pain in his life. Maybe now it was time for them to receive it. That Nohrian Prince was the enemy, and only the enemy, his singular purpose of his life being to destroy what was left of Takumi’s. With his power he could do more damage, kill more people, take whatever he pleased and be on his way with a flash of a smile Takumi’d grown to despise. His decision was then easily made. This was for the sake of killing a monster, a drastic time that called for drastic measures, and if no one had the guts to the do the unthinkable, then he would in the name of Hoshido.

He snuck in at the very dead of night. The creak of the door had seemed loud enough to shatter glass, wincing as he tip toed inside, closing the iron handles behind him as fast as he could. The Records Hall was small, just a room with several passageways leading to various parts of the massive library of scrolls, a glass dome opening up to the sky and casting stars on the grey tiles. His hands trailed along the dimly lit walls to find evidence of notch or a dent, trying not to look into the eyes of the white statues that surrounded him. The Adder Stone had been too dangerous to put on display, so it was hidden away somewhere in the Hall. He had never seen it himself, the only thing he had to go off of being the descriptions that his siblings had given him, but something told him he would know it when he saw it. It was a yellowing stone, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and hard enough to break bone. It had marking a on the outside of it, swirls and patterns decorating the side, warning to all who dared to go near it.

He grew impatient after a few hours of searching, his fingers starting to tap against the bricks out of annoyance. It had to be somewhere, hidden in plain sight, right where no one would expect to find it. His impatience grew the more time passed, his frustration with his own lack of ability to find it making his teeth grit, but just when he was about to give up, his eyes starting to ache from the darkness, there was a crashing sound behind him.

“Oh gods! Sorry oh-“

Takumi nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around to find Felicia standing with wobbly knees, her hands over her mouth. Below her were the pieces of a statue she had just knocked over, its parts scattered around the floor. The Hall was littered with those things, serving as both a centerpiece and a reminder of the past, certain idols guarding the library of scrolls within. He didn't think that someone was capable of breaking them until now, even on accident. The one that Felicia knocked over appeared to be a mage of some sort, although its outline was hard to make out in the pile of rubbish, the only evidence being an arm carrying a tome, lying broken next to its head.

‘L- Lord Takumi I’m so sorry I’m such a klutz oh gods was this important?” Felicia stammered, picking up a part of the foot and trying to put it back on the stand. Takumi’s blood was still cold from the sound, but judging by the mess, she obviously wasn’t going to be questioning why he was there any time soon. He let out a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Gods…here let me help,” he said, bending down on his knee to help clean up stray pieces that littered the ground, reaching to grab the head of the statue, “No, don’t touch that you’ll get cut-“

He stopped as soon as he picked it up. The weight was odd. Unlike the rest of the statue made of solid marble, the head was lighter than the others, and a hole was cut out of the root of the neck. It was hollowed out from the inside. Hesitantly, glancing to make sure Felicia wasn't looking, he shook it up and down. Something rattled inside it, just quiet enough for him to hear. His chest tensed, shaking it one more time, and as if by magic, a yellowing stone rolled out of the front of the neck, bouncing once on the ground.

The Adder Stone.

“Please forgive me Lord Takumi I-“

Takumi couldn't believe it, but before he had time to think, he snatched it up off the ground, shoving it in his pocket as quickly as he could.

“Clean it up. I have to leave.” Takumi said, getting to his feet, ignoring her twenty-third apology as he hurried back to his chambers. 

It seemed so dumb to have the most valuable weapon in the world hidden inside the head of a statue of all places, but there it was. He spent the greater portion of the night carving it into the shape of an arrowhead, the light of his candle swaying on his pedestal the single light left on in the camp The stone was just as powerful as people had told him, and he could tell it just by holding it in his hand. It didn’t look dangerous at all, the small rock a little broken around the edges, probably from past usage, brown splotches covering most of what used to be the strange markings, but it wasn’t so much the appearance as it was the feeling that came from it. Energy seemed to radiate from it, a sensation flooding his bones that made his hair stand on end, his hands shaking a little every time he scrapped his knife along the edge. This thing was dangerous, incredibly dangerous, but he couldn't turn back now. 

He took extra care not to cut himself, knowing the consequences would probably be disastrous, but he was still sweating by the end of it. He used to go into the woods and carve arrows out of the tree bark, the art of the bow no stranger to him. He had practically been raised with the Fujin Yumi, playing with it like a toy in his youth, practicing on the course ever since he could walk, but yet for the first time his hands stumbled over the carving of a simple arrowhead. The idea of sending this thing into someone’s skin made his stomach hurt, everything about it telling him it was wrong, wrong wrong wrong, and he had everything he had to block the words yelling in his head. 

“…Takumi.”

Hinoka rode next to him on her pegasus, her hands clasped on the reins, her voice snapping him from his train of thought. She’d been looking at him with a worried expression that made his skin crawl this whole time, her eyes always meeting his when he glanced at her. He took his hand out of his pocket, rubbing his fingers together.

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me finish,” Hinoka said.

“I know what you’re going to say and I don’t want to hear any of it,” He said, keeping his glare locked ahead of him.

“You’ve been walking for six hours now without so much as a drink,” Hinoka continued, trotting faster to catch up with Takumi, who was now trying to out-pace her, “You need to take a break sometime-“

“I don’t need anything. I’m fine!” Takumi said back, raising his voice just slightly. It still echoed around the forest as if he had shouted, a shudder passing up his spine.

“Takumi!” Hinoka yelled, this time taking his shoulder and pulling him to the side to face her, “Come to your senses! You need to rest! You’ve been up all night for the past few days, and your only going to hurt yourself if you keep pushing yourself like this!”

People were starting to stare. Takumi tried to bat her hand away, but her grip was too hard, leaving him to squirm in her grasp like when he did when they were kids.

“Don’t act like you know me better than I do Hinoka!” He spat. 

“I do know what’s right for a healthy human being,” Hinoka said, “And if you need to rest or else you’ll-“

“Or else I’ll what?” Takumi said, finally facing her, his skin bristling with rage, “I’ll loose my mind? Go crazy again?”

‘That’s not the reason, idiot,” she said, scowling down at him, “Stop talking about that day! No one blames you for anything, so stop bringing it up! It's like you're obsessed with it! 

“I’m not obsessed!” He yelled back, stumbling away from her once he got his bearings, “It's just- I just-”

“Takumi.”

An arm hit his chest, stopping him in his tracks. Ryoma stared at the ground below him, keeping him from taking anymore steps, his face expressionless. 

“Let go of me-“ Takumi started, but stopped as soon as he followed Ryoma’s gaze. 

Takumi’s feet were perched on the edge of what looked to be another one of the many swamps that were scattered around the woods, but the water was far too fast. It rushed past his feet at breathtaking speed, ripping at the bank of soil next to him, as black as the sky above them. It seemed to stretch on far further than it should have, or maybe it was just a trick of the darkness that blended so well with it. Rocks jutted out from its waters, cutting through the waves like knives, ready to grind up anything that fell into ground meat. And he'd nearly fallen into it. Takumi swallowed, stepping back, avoiding Ryoma’s eyes.

“…How is it moving so fast?” he said.

“This is the River Lethe,” Ryoma said, his hand falling back to his side, “It runs through all of Nohr.”

Takumi shuttered, holding his bow a little tighter. The water seemed to rush faster at the mention of it’s name, sending cold sprays against the rocks. It looked as menacing as the rest of the forest, perhaps even more so, his reflection blurry and trembling in the black water before it was swallowed back into the current, taking him in like the jaws of wolves. 

“I've heard about this before,” Jakob said, Takumi flinching when he heard him shift to his side, “I’ve been told never to approach this bank since I was a child. They say if you fall in, you’ll be swept to the far corners of the Earth.”

“Would you mind if I gave you a little push then?” Oboro said, crossing her arms to glare at him. The two had been fighting since the day that Jakob had arrived here, and Takumi honestly couldn't blame them. Oboro’s hatred for Nohrian’s ran far deeper than Takumi’s ever could, and Jakob served as a catalyst to that. The butler rolled his eyes, making a snarky comment about her face as he turned to go back to the group, Oboro shooting something back that the river drowned out in Takumi’s ears.

“Orochi, build us as sturdy of a bridge as you can,” Ryoma said, “Make sure no one falls into the water.”

It didn’t take long to lift some of the trees around them, Tsukuyomi’s strength used as well to place them over the rushing water. Takumi’s legs felt Braille the whole time he walked across, unable to escape the crushing feeling that it was going to break out from under him at any second. He managed to cross, his feet hitting solid ground in a few moments, but as soon as everyone had made it, Kamui froze.

“Did you see that?”

The army stood rigid, eyes wandering around the woods to see what their general was talking about. No one distrusted Kamui’s sixth sense. At first there wasn’t anything, just the rustling of dead leaves shaking in front of them, but soon the landscape began to shift. Out of the corner of Takumi’s eye, blue flames began to shift into focus. They started small, only tiny flickers in the midst of the black towers of the forest, but they soon grew to the size of torches, illumining the waters of the swamp below them. Ryoma stepped back, drawing his sword from its holster in a single motion, his heels digging into the ground, Kamui following suit. 

“Look out!”

The ground shook, sending small rocks trembling under his feet, and then suddenly burst, debris scattering everywhere. A giant hand rose from the crater, and Takumi jumped back, yanking the bowstring behind his ear to shoot at the monster rising from stones, and found his arrow fixed on the cold, dead eyes of a Faceless. Fear gripped his chest, his breath hitching, his fingers slipping from the emerald string out of terror and landing right between its eyes. The thing roared, falling to the ground, and he was already drawing another, green light curling up his wrist. More appeared, and soon the Faceless had surrounded them, chains clanking as they moved towards the army.

‘Takumi wait!” Kamui cried, putting a hand behind them to stop him. He didn’t dare lower his bow, his heart racing in his ears. The Faceless didn’t move, the maggot infested holes of their masks simply staring right into them.

“They’re not attacking,” Ryoma said, “Something’s wrong. They’re frozen solid…like they’re being controlled.”

As if on que, the ground shook again, purple smoke rising from the graveyard in front of them, flowing through the gravestones like river water, wrapping around their ankles. It smelled of salt, not so much as salt from the sea but more of the salt from an open wound, Takumi feeling as though he would be sick at any moment. A blurred figure stood in the distance, the sound of something made of metal slamming against the pavement making Takumi tense, tightening the string of his bow as it came into focus, a low laugh accompanying it.

“Have you lost your night eyes already?”

The shadows seems to bend and pool around the person atop the horse, parting to reveal a man’s face. No. A boy’s face. He was dressed in a thick coat of armor, the Nohrian style cut of blonde hair pulled back with a thin headband, his face framed with a tall black collar. Takumi had seen that face before. That day on the battlefield, smug with confidence and pride, staring him down in front of his bow like he knew it would never find its mark. He didn't so much remember his outfit as he did the idea of Prince Leon of Nohr, his existence serving only as a reminder of everything Takumi stood against, his nemesis from the day this war began. The perfect princeling of Nohr was just as high on his horse as he always was, everything about him shining with an all-knowing aura of arrogance.

Takumi hated it.

Kamui’s blade shown blue in the wisps of light, their feet teetering as the ground shifted once more, yelling at the Prince to try and reason with him. It wouldn't work. Takumi and the rest of the army knew that well enough. He didn't even bother to listen to what he was saying, too busy counting how many steps away he was from the Nohrian Prince’s perfect little throat, the weight of the stone once again making his pocket feel as if were filled with boulders. The bog oozed with slime below them, the Faceless fidgeting the more Kamui spoke, the Prince beginning to look more and more agitated with each word. He set his jaw, the tome in his hand pulsing with purple light.

“I hate you. I’ve always hated you,” he growled, his voice thick with a rage that made Takumi’s hair stand on end, his face snapping up to look Kamui in the eye.

“Now die traitor!”

The field erupted in chaos, the fight igniting in the blind of an eye, the Faceless lunging at them all at once. Takumi was shoved to the back lines, Tsubaki jumping in front of him just in time to block a Faceless’s fist, metal ringing in his ears. The monsters seemed to come at them from all directions, fueled by the same anger and aggression that hid behind the Nohrian Prince’s smile. The army was almost instantly overwhelmed, Ryoma fending off a group of Faceless alone, other groups disoriented amongst the monsters, blindly fighting with all they had. A feeling in Takumi’s chest shifted, an energy like raw lighting traveling down his arms, the scene in front of him burning with red. He wasn't going to let him get away with this.

An arrow flew from his bow, whizzing past Suzukaze’s head, barely missing his ear. Neither of them flinched. The Faceless roared, disappearing into dust as it crumbled to the ground, the green arrow already fading from the hole it left in it’s mask. The ninja tried to thank him, but Takumi nearly ran over him, charging straight for the center of the graveyard. This was his only chance to hit him, his only chance to catch him off his guard and take what he could. His only chance to show that he was good enough, but he wasn't prepared for what he witnessed up ahead.

The Nohrian Prince was a machine. His tome was alight with violet, taking out their soldiers one by one, forceful bursts of branches springing from the ground around them, tossing their soldiers aside as if they were straw dolls. The trees moved like had a mind of their own, wrapping around necks or locking feet in place so the Prince could send a rod of lightning through them, scattering their remains into the sea of graves. They had mages in Hoshido, but never like this. He'd heard of the Prince’s power, even experienced it himself, but he'd never seen it in full force. The earth twisted and bent at the outstretch of his hand, a treacherous magic seeming to emanate from him, yet all the while his face didn't make the lightest expression. He was graceful and powerful, handling each and every enemy that came his way, never once faltering in the slightest.

A hate brewed in Takumi’s stomach at the sight of him, and as if by the whisk of a hand, any lingering doubts he had were gone. The Adder Stone felt like hot coals in his pocket, and without a moment’s hesitation it was in his hand, the stem of the arrow wrapping around the small rock, just like the arrowhead at the practice field. He never despised anything more, never wanted to bring down something as much as he did with this perfect, spoiled brat of a Prince. He was going to kill him. He had never been more sure of anything in his life. His body was heaving, all the noise around him fading to nothing as he raised his bow, barely able to see with all the scarlet flooding into his eyes.

Just as he was about to release the string, the Nohrian Prince’s head snapped to met his eyes. There was a second, a moment of time where they stared at each other. If Takumi hadn't been so blinded by rage, he may have noticed the color of the spell book change in his hand, the lilac threads that had been pouring from its pages turning to a dark crimson. He may have noticed the way his hand lifted, or the way it started glowing around the tips of his fingers, the whole air tensing with static around him, enough to make the dead grass around him float into the air. He may have noticed that his eyes were the same color as his, dark brown with a ring of gold around the edges, and that they shown with the exact same emotions that resided in his own. 

But he didn't.

He let the arrow fly as the Nohrian Prince thrust his hand out in the same second, sending red tendrils of magic straight towards his heart as the stem of an arrow shot towards his shoulder. 

At first he didn't feel anything, the force of the magic causing him to stumble back a few paces, his hand clutching at his chest. It felt like sunburn, a slight pang on the surface of his skin, spreading across his side with astounding pace. He couldn't move, his heels slipping in the dirt, his body feeling somewhat immobile as he felt the pain began to deepen, pressing into the area around his heart like nails against his arteries, but whatever he was about to do next was stopped by the scream that filled the air.

The whole forest seemed to shake with it, the blue flames that had been flickering around them popping like fireworks, snuffing out their only source of light with a bang. The Faceless around them shuttered, and Takumi watched as every one of them fell to the ground, collapsing like puppets cut from their strings. In the middle of all this was the Nohrian Prince, lying on his back in the mud, his horse taking off into the night. The end of a green arrow was sticking out of his left shoulder, and his hands clawing at it, blood and black liquid spilling from the wound, the scream never leaving his lips. The arrow had found its mark.

If Takumi had the strength he would have laughed. He’d done it. He’d shot him. There was a rush of pride that ran through his veins, a grin tugging at his features as he took a few trembling steps forward towards him, his breath labored. He was going to kill him, kick him while he was down, show everyone that he was just as strong as everyone else. The Nohrian Prince was still, his eyes vacant as he stared at the blank sky, still trembling lightly from the wound at his shoulder. Takumi picked up the Fujin, lifting it to his eye like the executioners from the stories of old, smiling as his fingers went to draw the bow, when pain shot up his entire right side. His vision blurred, needles seeming to drill into the place where the Prince had shot him with a spell, and suddenly he was burning. He stumbled back, dropping the bow to the ground. Whatever spell that bastard had used was finally activated, and fire ran through his blood like lava, Takumi struggling to remain upright. He tried to see, tried to find his footing again, tried to pick up his bow and do something about this pain that was cutting him to the bone.

“TA-KU-MI!”

His name sounded distant, the noise not fully reaching his ears. He lifted his head to see who was calling him, the world a mesh of brown and green, when he was met with a metal boot to the face. He reeled back, stars bursting in his vision, something grabbing his scarf, and before he knew it, the knuckles of the Nohrian Prince’s glove were digging into the left side of his face. A feeling took him over, not one of revenge or anger or victory, but cold fear that seemed to kick himself into overdrive. He didn’t know how the Nohrian Prince was on his feet, or why there was white sparks coming from his golden halo of hair, but he didn't care. He couldn't die here. The Prince threw another blow, and Takumi stumbled to the side, dodging his metal fist and sending a hit of his own into his stomach.

They were wrestling in no time, clawing and hitting at each other, pain flooding every part of Takumi’s body as the spell settled into his bones. He was punching blind, branches and leaves scratching at his face. His Fujin Yumi wouldn’t be summoned no matter how many times he willed it to, panic only rising more in his chest as he felt himself stumble backwards. The Faceless had come back the life around them, the army too preoccupied with the hoards of monsters released from the Nohrian Prince’s grip to do anything to help him. The Prince was a better fighter than he thought, and soon Takumi was being backed into a corner, tripping over his own feet as he tried to get away and get his ground again to hit him back, so focused on that that he didn't hear the sound of water until it was too late. 

“WATCH OUT!”

Takumi didn't hear the warning, not until he was suddenly slipping in mud. He frantically looked down to find that his feet were inches from the bank of the River Lethe, the water tearing at the back of his heels. He felt dizzy, trying to straighten himself, but soon the Prince had him by the throat. Takumi’s mind went blank, the air gone from his lungs as he saw the blurred face of Prince Leon, red from blood and dirt, trying to shove him into the river. Takumi struggled, his hand trying to find a grip on the Nohrian Prince’s armor, everything turning into slush for a moment as the fingers dug into his windpipe. He wasn't going to be killed by someone like him. If he was going to die, this Prince was going with him. With one last lunge of strength, he grabbed the front of the Prince’s shirt, much to the Nohrian’s surprise, and let himself fall, dragging him down with him into the dark waters, his consciousness slipping from him as soon as he hit the river flow.


	4. Ember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> im on vacation and i'm late and I'm great and here's chapter 4

For a very long, very scary amount of time, Leon was surrounded by nothing. He floated aimlessly in a sea of black, the world vacant of everything but his own presence. He wasn't sure where he was, or if he was even alive or not, the emptiness tangible enough to make him question to relativity of his own existence, the notion that he had fallen to his death off of some cliff side starting to become increasingly probable. Beyond the pure logic that he could not have survived a fall like that, his heart seemed to be telling him something different that his mind refused to acknowledge. A spirit was still alive in him; an irrational, volatile spirit that he tried to hide away all his life. Right now however, as he found himself slipping down into something out of his control, that spark of emotion, of fear, of anger, of hopelessness was a relief. He was alive, whether he wanted to be or not.

It was then that whatever stupid dream he was having decided to come into focus. The shadows scattered as if scared by some other sentient being in his mind, the shapeless masses forming themselves into a white sky above his head, his spine tingling with the feeling of something cold and shallow running across his back. Water. Willow trees bent into his vision, soft flowers blossoming with pink and yellow dipping into the body of water that he was currently floating in, lillies drifting by his arms. The trees seemed to grow from nothing, Leon not able to pick up any sign of land, their roots reaching deep below the surface of the water instead of nestled in the ground. He couldn't find a foothold, or feel anything but a stomach-wrenching drop below him, so he still lay suspending on the surface of the water, as if held up by strings in an endless expanse of ocean.

He did not feel the pain in his left side until he attempted to move. It hit with a sharp pang, but his body didn't react, allowing it to run across himself like needles. His hand reached to his side slowly, the forget-me-nots and daisies parting for him to move, sending ripples across the ocean around him, rising and falling like hills across a never ending plane. Instead of feeling armor or skin graze the tips of his fingers, he felt the leathery touch of waxing plants. White blooms of lilies were growing out of his side, their vines intertwining around his waist, holding him still, or rather pushing him down into the murky depths below. He knew he should be moving, his body beginning to submerge under, water filling his nose and eye sockets, but was paralyzed, frozen where he stood, the shadows of the dark reaching up like hands to grab him and drown him with poppies and gladioli.

And then he was awake. His eyes snapped open, the dream flowers around him disappearing as sunlight poured into his senses, the blue of the ocean morphing into a hazy sapphire of sky. The suffocating sensation in his throat, however, did not leave, and soon he was sitting bolt upright, hacking up his right lung. His head hurt, and he coughed up what water was left in his chest, his hands slipping in the bed of rocks below him, the sound of a rushing river ringing in the back of his ears. It wasn't until he finally calmed down, his eyes stinging, that he began to take in what was around him. The smell of fresh water was the first to hit him, combined with the eerie touch of mud and plants under his fingers. He looked up, blinking away the sun’s rays, and saw was at a riverbed, the waves lapping at the rocky shore beside his metal boots, the steel stained and damaged around the calf. Momentarily, he let his fear subside, chests going sore at the sight of them. Elise had given him those boots for his birthday. Maybe with a little magic he could fix them to make them look good as new.

A twig broke next to him, breaking him from his trance. His heart leapt in his chest, snapping his head around. He was faced with nothing but the forest, old cherry trees curving over the bank, flower petals drifting onto the bed of stones below. The air was stilled, the water going silent as paranoia sharpened his senses. After a few minutes, Leon was about to convince himself that he'd imagined the sound, before he turned his head slightly to the right. 

Prince Takumi of Hoshido was perched on the edge of the bank, sakura flowers falling around his feet, crouched low to the ground and watching him with wide eyes. As soon as he Leon saw him, his body went taut. Both of them refused to move, unsure of what the other would do next. Water was still cling to the other prince’s clothes, meaning he had just woken up too, his eyes shifting to look at the ground. Leon followed his gaze. Brynhildr was lying open on the riverbed, right between both of them, its pages open and soggy. A burst of anger ran through him, worried that he had destroyed it in the river, but he knew it would take more than a drop in a puddle to ruin it. Directly above it sat the Fujin Yumi, the bow a little closer to Leon than it was the other prince.

As if the same thought had crossed their mind at the same time, they both lunged for the weapons in the center. Leon stumbled over the rocks, trying to get to his feet, but as soon as he stood upright, pain like he had never felt shot through him. His body stiffened on reflex, collapsing back into the bed like a board, his knees buckling out from underneath him. It was just like his dream, except obviously much more real, Leon tasting blood and salt in his mouth.

The other prince didn’t waste any time, kicking up dirt behind him as he dove for the yumi. Leon grit his teeth, reaching out and snatching it from the ground just before he could reach it, the other prince getting a facefull of rocks instead. Leon’s mind was clouded with what felt like silver mist, and he threw the bow to the side, away from both their reach. The prince was still fast, and Leon soon felt himself being pinned down into the rocks, the pain in his left side finally erupting in full force. He yelled, his nails scratching at the prince on top of him to try to get away, until he felt something cold and hard press against his throat. 

“Stay...down,” Said the other prince,” Or I’ll slit your throat.”

It was all too much, the pain, the force, the terror, and Leon gave in, his hands clenching on the arm holding him down, resorting to simply glaring up at him. 

When the white cleared from his vision, the stars blurring away, in came to focus two large brown eyes, just like his. He then realized this was the first time he'd seen Prince Takumi of Hoshido up close. His skin was brownish from the mud and sun, a broken rock held aloft in his hand, water dripping down the ovals in his face. His hair was tousled, threads hanging between his nose and mouth, undone slightly from the ponytail it had been in, making him look even more insane than he already did. His lips were tied back into a sneer, his chest rising and falling, his clothes soaked and swinging on his arms. His face was actually quite fair, his eyelashes long and his skin soft, and he might have thought he was handsome, but right now, with pain making his headache, he could only mumble. 

“...Get off me.”

“Shut your mouth, Nohrian rat,” the prince said, pressing the rock deeper into his throat. Leon twitched where he was, his hands moving to try and push him off weakly.

“Gah- Get off me- Damnit-”

His reaction seemed to make him think twice. The other prince looked down at where his knee pressed into Leon’s abdomen, his hand never lessening on his windpipe. Leon saw the barest flicker of his composure when his eyes met his left side, then it was quickly gone, the other prince bearing his teeth.

“I am Prince Takumi,” he said, “Now listen up scum. If you don’t struggle, I’ll take you back to Hoshido with most of your organs intact. Got it?”

He couldn’t really object, not with his head full of knives and his skin full of hornets. He gruffly answered him, his nails digging into his skin. Prince Takumi got off him, Leon bursting into another fit of coughs, his fist clenching in the material of the metal at his side, the wet touch of fresh blood staining his fingertips. He'd been injured back in those woods, but how he couldn't remember. Prince Takumi was already on his feet, yanking the yumi up from the rocks, grabbing Brynhildr with it. Leon cursed something under his breath. Prince Takumi shot him with a glare, grabbing his arm and yanking him to his feet. The combination of the shock of his strength and the sudden jostle of the world made Leon’s head spin like a toy top, staggering to stand upright. The other Prince was no help, slinging the tome under his arm, the bow tight in his hand.

“Walk.”

“You don’t know where you’re going,” Leon slurred.

“Did I give you permission to talk?” Prince Takumi said, pushing him forward. Leon tasted salt in his mouth, complying to his authority only because he didn’t have the strength to resist, letting the other prince lead him into the forest ahead.

“Do you even know where we are?” Leon said.

“Yes.” Prince Takumi grumbled.

“No you don’t.”

“Yes I do.”

“No you don’t. If I’m lost then I know for a fact that you are too.”

Prince Takumi pushed him again, this time making a branch smack Leon’s face. He nearly lost his balance, teetering down a section of mossy rocks, each step sending whirlwinds of pain into his side.

“I’m going to find a town,” Prince Takumi said, tucking the bow under his arm, “That’s where we’re going.”

“We can’t just walk until we find one. That could take days, and if we’re in Nohr it’ll only-”

A hand grabbed Leon by the collar before he could finish his sentence, yanking Leon to the side to met the other prince’s eyes again.

“You have no idea how fed up I am with Nohrians,” Prince Takumi said, “And the last thing I need is another pompous wannabe telling me what to do. You should be glad I didn’t slit your throat back there, but my mercy only runs so far.”

He jabbed a finger to Leon’s chest.

“If you piss me off anymore I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

Leon felt like he had been dragged through the mud for the past week, barely able to open his mouth without his vision wavering. He managed to answer.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Prince Takumi’s face twisted with rage. Leon thought that he was surely done for with that sentence, bracing himself for another hit. However, he made no other moves, only shoving him down the path. 

“Look for smoke in the sky.”

Wherever they were, it wasn’t any place Leon had seen. The landscape was barren, stretching far into the distance, a thick wood of trees sprouting from the ground. Although it seemed fertile, as Leon trekked through the woods, he noticed whole patches of earth dried to a pulp, sections of the woods almost entirely vacant of anything besides the twisted thorns of fruitless bushes, the cherry trees he had seen on the bank of the river nowhere in sight. He wondered to himself how far he could have travelled while he was unconscious. It was a miracle they were even alive, though he wasn't one to believe in miracles. Something rotten was about, something whose answer lay in the pain in his side. However there was a gap in his memory. For some reason, he was unable to recall anything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. He wasn't so much worried about the black hole in his head as he was the wound in his side though. He had maybe a few hours before he bled to death. Hopefully his captor would screw his head back on before that happened and lend him a cloth. 

He’d heard about the Hoshidan Prince, almost too much, and although the first conversation they had ever had had been a few minutes ago with a sharp rock pressed to his neck, he felt like he could write his autobiography if he wanted. Prince Takumi was his example, his rival, his (as Elise put it with a few fervent punches to the air), his arch nemesis, destined to oppose him on the battlefield until this wretched war came to it’s conclusion. Leon had prepared for his volatile emotions, had even devised various ways to use them against him, especially in this instance. But Prince Takumi hadn’t done anything about his insult. With a quick look over his shoulder, he noticed that the other prince was limping. When he thought Leon wasn’t looking, he grunted when he stepped too far over a rock, or winced when he stumbled over the dry earth. He had been injured too, somewhere back in the forest, and it was enough to make him hold off on killing him. Like a wick just grazing a matchbox, he thought he remembered what had happened before they had fallen into the river. A memory of red and green bubbled to the surface of his mind: the spray of mud sticking to his thigh, the feeling of his chest lurching as he fell from a great height. Then it was whisked away, fading back into the confines of his head when Prince Takumi’s face suddenly brightened, pointing up at the sky.

“Ha! I told you I knew where I was going! Look over there.”

Leon followed his arm, looking up to see a plume of black smoke rising above the treetops. It looked like the possible gathering of a town, yet as soon as Leon saw it, his hair stood on end with a sense of dread. He didn’t know what was ahead of him, yet the tunnel of trees that lead to the clearing where it was positioned seemed to close in around him, feeling sweat break out along his forehead. Prince Takumi didn’t seem to notice the dangerous atmosphere in the slightest, straightening his shoulders as he strode forward, a bright smile on his face.

“Prince Takumi-” Leon started.

“You must have some goddamn nerve,” Prince Takumi growled, stopping to glare back at him. Leon ignored him.

“Please, I beseech you with my authority as Prince of Nohr to go the other way.”

“Not this again,” he said, rolling his eyes, marching back towards Leon. His skin was prickling with anxiety, his fists clenching at his sides. He must be some kind of moron, treating him with no respect and acting as if he wasn't the second prince of Nohr, and Leon felt his frustration boil over. 

He shouted “If you could you use your pathetic excuse for a brain for once you’d at least look and see that over there-” 

Prince Takumi completely ignored him, instead snatching Leon’s wrist hard enough to bruise and pulling him forward, Leon tripping to keep up with him. They pushed through the brush, moving to the edge of the forest where the smoke was at its thickest, and to Leon’s surprise, Prince Takumi had been correct. Prince Takumi’s face fell as soon as he laid eyes on what was ahead of him, his proud smirk fading as the ashes flew past his hair. There was a town in front of them, the only problem with his theory however, was that the whole thing had been burned to the ground. 

The skeletons of charred and ruined houses stood on the barebones of their supports, their wooden beams glowing and crackling with the residue of orange flames, crumbling under the weight of their roofs. Ash filled the air above them, and would have covered the sun shining above them, had the sky not been overcast that day. Leon could feel the sting of the embers from where he stood at the end of the clearing, the miles of burnt houses making the air shimmer above the carnage like a mirage, and Leon couldn't help but stare.

Then a flicker of movement caught his attention. A beam crashed the floor before he could get a good look at it, a rush of heat making him put his hands up to protect himself. If Prince Takumi had seen it as well, he didn’t show it. He stood motionless, his face looking a little green around the edges, looking all of the sudden quite frail, the coals bringing to front something Leon couldn’t have known about him. 

“...Did you see-” Leon started.

The wind blew the smoke to the left, making both of them stumble, the flames cooling below them, and suddenly a dark figure was standing there. It was man, or at least looked like a man from where Leon was standing, clad in a black cloak on top of what looked to be the burnt remains of a table. He was barefoot atop the embers, his cloak flowing behind him, streak of purple visible around his collar area, but the most striking part of him was the fact that the skull of a giant crow was mounted on their head. Leon’s stomach dropped. The sight of him seemed to conjure up memories in his chest, stories of old and angry spirits fluttering back into his mind’s eye. The figure hadn’t seen them yet, examining the ground with their wide sockets, it’s beak curved and glossy in the pale orange light, arms hidden in the folds of the cloak. Leon couldn’t make out any human features, even its legs looking strange, standing bolt upright above the mess of flames as if they didn’t harm them, it’s body as translucent and temporary as the light of the fires. 

Prince Takumi took a step forward. The figure’s head suddenly snapped to the side, their sockets meeting Leon’s eyes. His heart skipped a beat, frozen in its gaze, then it was gone. With a whisk of their black cape, it vanished in a whirl of ash and smoke, the wood beneath them crumbling back into sparks.

Prince Takumi said, “...What the hell.”

His voice seemed to shatter the scene, and they were back in the field of flames again, the magic sucked from the landscape. Leon snapped out of it just in time to watch Prince Takumi jump over the nearest rock, and, much to Leon’s horror, begin walking towards the wreckage.

“What are you doing?!” Leon shouted.

“There’s gotta be some survivors!” Prince Takumi shouted. 

(gods, he really was a moron)

Leon shuttered from where he sat, grumbling a comment under his breath, clutching a tree for support. Unfortunately the prince didn’t hear him, wading through the field a few yards, his yumi in his hand.

“Come on let’s do at least something,” the other prince said, “That’s an entire town- HEY”

He must have seen something in the distance, a light coming onto his face again. Across the way from them, the bushes had parted slightly, and what looked to be a handful of people came out. Their clothes matched those of hunters, their weapons garnishing that fact, maybe survivors of the ravaged town scavenging for food. Prince Takumi must of thought the same thing, reaching up a hand to wave at them.

“Uh-” he said, “HEY- ARE YOU GUYS ALRIGHT-?”

An arrow whizzed past them, just skimming the side of Leon’s cheek, hitting the tree next to him. He flinched, tripping as another arrow went sailing by, narrowly avoiding his temple.

“Oh gods,” Prince Takumi managed to get out, then the hunters were moving towards them, leaping up and over the wreckage like snakes through grass. Leon stumbled back, wondering how Prince Takumi and him could possibly make a run for it in their condition, but Prince Takumi didn’t look in the least bit worried. He looked almost exhausted, picking up his Fujin Yumi and raising it to eye level. 

“Fine. If they want a fight then they’ll-”

As soon as he willed the string into existence, and earth-shattering sound cut through the clearing. The green light of the Fujin Yumi blurred in between his fingers, a spark of pure red arching through the whole bow. Prince Takumi screamed, dropping the weapon to the ground as if it had burned him, clutching his hands to his chest as he fell back a few steps. His mouth was wide with pain, a second scream silenced on the front of his lips by the strength of his own will. The bow convulsed, dying down when Prince Takumi let go of it, the red fading from the long curves of the wood with a sharp hiss.

And Leon remembered.

It came back with a rush as powerful as the torrents of heat from the fire. The woods, alight with blue fire. Kamui’s face torn with anguish. The archer poised in a sea of graves, his arrow shining with a malice Leon didn’t have the words to describe, and most importantly he remembered the spell. The night before he had left the Castle Krakenberg, the night he had spent using and exercising all of the magic he knew, bent over his desk and thinking, thinking, thinking until his head couldn’t fit on his shoulders. In that darkness, somewhere in the usual green sparks of magic that came from Brynhildr, he had discovered something that came in crimson. A spell that came from a part of himself he never wanted to return to, a spell that meant the destruction of the Hoshidan Prince.

It had worked.

Leon could hardly believe it himself. A terrible excitement ran through him, relief and joy taking hold of him. He could still be the Prince of Nohr. He could still prove himself to his father, take back that prince and kill him right there in front of him, all he had to do was reach for his tome and it would be over. He was so locked in his own thoughts that he didn’t react to the hunters until it was too late. Prince Takumi was the first to go down, screaming an awful word as a hunter broke through the grass, pushing him down against the nearest rock, a knife to his chest. Bryhindlr feel out from under Prince Takumi’s arm, it's pages splaying on the ground. Leon blinked, snapping his head to the side just as another hunter tackled him, Leon”

“Keep ‘em down! Especially the blonde one!”

His first instinct was to fight, throwing his hands up to stop the person keeping him down, but that idea quickly proved to be useless. The hunters were armed to the teeth, weapons of all kinds stacked in their clothes. Leon was partially aware of the sword a few inches from his spleen, yet with a quick glance over to his left, he saw another hunter wielding a katana. Their clothing, just like their weapons, didn’t signify allegiance to Hoshido or Nohr. Mismatched reds and greens were splayed across their chests, dark clothes built for camouflage rather than soldiers. 

“Let us go!” Leon shouted, trying to keep his voice from dropping into something less than royal, “We mean no harm!”

The hunters around them stopped, their faces hidden in thick bandanas, staring at Leon like they had no idea he had the ability to talk. Leon took advantage of their attention, wetting his lips before speaking again.

“Please,” He said, “We mean no ill will. We have brought no valuables or possessions that might be of use to people like you.”

He said it with a bit more disgust than he had intended. The hunters around them glared at him from behind their clothes, drawing their weapons again, this time turned towards him.

“Oh cut the crap will ya,” Another voice said, this time coming from behind him. The metal sheen of boots clomped into his vision, belt buckles torn and undone.

“You’re the mage who keeps burnin’ down our houses.”

“Excuse me!” Leon said, his voice shrill, about to yell out how utter ridiculous that idea sounded, when an image of the man in the crow skull flashed behind his eyes. They must be mistaking him for that thing.

“Come on now. We know the description. Everyone on the border does,” the leader said, “The blonde spell-caster with the weird collar. That’s what it says right on the tin. You’re worth half a dragon’s weight in gold.”

He smiled, and Leon caught a glimpse of silver in his teeth. A wanted description. A cash prize. These weren't townspeople, but bounty hunters. Leon’s skin felt cold, the sudden realization hitting him that reasoning wasn't going to help in his situation, and not when he matched the description of the man they were describing. With rising panic, his eyes darted up to Prince Takumi again, this time seeing the small, black corner of Brynhildr sticking out from the side of his coat. If he could just grab it, he could finish them off with a few flicks of his hand. The person positioned over him was the only thing standing in his way. 

“We’ll take you in and sell ya got all that. Besides, it's not like we're doing a bad thing. We're just dishing out justice.”

He clenched his fists, and in one motion, punched the man in front of him in the face during their leader’s monologue. The man lurched back, Leon seizing the moment to leap towards Prince Takumi, swiping the time from the ground. The people, instead of attacking him, formed a defensive position as soon as he jumped, a fear striking their features as soon as he moved, their weapons drawn and facing him as if he were about to unleash a torrent of hell, and Leon couldn't think of anything better to do. This was easy. He didn't need to put the slightest bit of effort into ending their miserable lives, his skill so utterly above them that nothing could possibly stand in his way. 

“Die cowards!” He shouted, extending his arm.

Nothing happened.

The bounty hunters around him blinked up at him, looking extremely confused. Their leader, Silver Tooth, tilted his head, and a nervous looking servant of his came to his side, whispering out of the corner of his mouth.

“Is this really the Mage of Trows?”

Silver Tooth looked out a list, mumbling to himself as he went through it. 

“Blonde hair...weird collar...yep he fits the description perfectly. He must got somethin’ on the market either way.” He said, shrugging his shoulders and tossing it to the side, “We can sell the long haired one to the army or something while we got ‘im ‘ere. Let's get goin’. It’s getting dark.”

Leon didn't hear any of their conversation. While they spoke, his hands were trembling, extending his arms again and again. Nothing was happened. No magic flowed from his fingers, or violent bursts of energy come from the letters scrawled in Brynhildr. The tome lay dead in his hands, it's papers ruffling in the wind, and Leon couldn't breathe. 

(it wasn't working. make it work. fix it fix it why wasn't it working why does your side hurt what's happening what's happening) 

The bounty hunters grabbed him, grabbing the tome out of his hands and tying them behind his back, Leon too cold and horrified to fight anymore. As they dragged him to his feet, he felt eyes on him, and looked to the side to see Prince Takumi of Hoshido staring at him. The same horror was plastered on his face, and the same abnormal excitement mixed it. He'd done something to him, something Leon didn't want to think about or even fathom the possibility of, something he could have never imagined. The bounty hunters pushed them gruffly forward, and Leon felt all his energy slip from him as soon as his gaze broke Prince Takumi’s.

His magic was gone, by the hands of Prince Takumi, and he wasn't sure what he'd be able to do without it.


	5. Metal

Takumi had no idea what to do. 

The whole ordeal had happened so fast, from the cemetery to the river to the crow man to the hunters, that none of it seemed real. He had to be dreaming. Just the morning before he had been practicing archery in the fields, arrows flying across the green like stars shot from comets, and now he was being dragged along the dirt by a group of bounty hunters, his hands tied behind his back. None of it made sense, none of it was even fair, but no matter how many times he pinched the palm of his hand, he wouldn't wake up. The most terrible part of this whole thing however, dream or not, was the Fujin Yumi. As soon as he raised the bow to his eyes, he'd known something was wrong, but he'd done it anyway. The red that had erupted from the wooden steam still lingered behind his eyes, and Takumi clutched the bow in his hands now, praying that he’d just imagined it. But the burns on his hand hurt too much for him to ignore, the thin lines of blistered skin from the bow paining him with each step.

The bounty hunters, or hunters, or whatever they were wasted no time in taking them back to their hideout, treating them no better than bags of manure. Takumi didn't mind that part. He didn't care what happened to him. The overwhelming pace of the past few hours were enough to make him feel numb to all the bruises that piled up, and the more he got, the less they hurt. He felt empty and cold and terribly disassociated with everything around him, letting his head lean back to stare up at the bare branches of trees framing the grey sky, light bleeding its way through the clouds every so often like melted wax. He was almost able to lose himself in those silver candle clouds, blinking as he looked up at them, but then they took his Yumi. They pried it out of his hands while he was in his daze, all of them chattering and staring at the wooden curve of the bow, and Takumi snapped. 

The blatant disrespect for the weapon, his weapon, was enough to make his blood boil over. They let the tail end drag across the ground like an old shovel, acting as if it were nothing more than a bow made of bronze and old string. He tried to grab it, kicking and biting and scratching at the arms that held him up, but all he got was an head full of pain from the front of boots, and a bloody nose from Silver Tooth’s fist. By the end of it, Takumi’s knees were scraped, the side of his head was bleeding, but not once did he let up the slew of curses coming from his mouth. Prince Leon, on the other hand, was the opposite. Takumi had hardly noticed him while they walked, too busy with his own problems to see how the other Prince was doing, especially with the discovery of the loss of his power. He walked alongside him in silence, not looking up from the ground, letting the people bind his hands, looking off into space while Takumi kicked and screamed, not making any sort of resistance coming from him. He looked unfocused, as if he'd retreated back into his head, thinking deeply about something Takumi couldn't hope to understand, any fire he had thought he'd seen in Prince Leon on the bank of the river snuffed out, his face drained of all color. 

The bounty hunter’s hideout was hidden in the remains of an old town, one abandoned a long time ago. Although it hadn't been burned like the town they had just been in, time had taken its toll, making the simple village look like an eerie ghost town, overgrown and rotting from the ground up. They paid no mind to the town around them, instead making a direct route towards a small house near the center. It was just a tiny shed, hidden inbetween the crux of two other broken houses, the only thing differentiating it from the rest of the town being how well kept it was. No vines curled along its sides, the walls all perfectly intact, the door painted black as the night, almost startling in comparison to the grey, faded doors of the other houses. With a quick yank of the knob, the door opened, and Takumi was greeted with an empty room, devoid of any furniture. The ceiling was neat, the floor was swept, and there was even a little fireplace at the end of the room. It was actually kind of cozy in a way, and to thank them for their hospitality, Takumi kicked out a window. All he got was another punch in the face. 

“My gods, you're a feisty one,” Silver Tooth said, rubbing his knuckles, a black bruise forming over Takumi’s left eye, “Put him in cell number six. He's just as bad as the Mage.”

The thought crossed Takumi’s mind that they could not possibly fit six jail cells into this small of a room, opening his mouth to say something about it, and probably lose a tooth in the process, when Silver Tooth abruptly stomped on the ground. A trap door opened below him, camouflaged with the rest of the material of the floor, small metal ridges serving as a ladder embedded into the side A few men were already starting to go down it, swinging their legs over the side and throwing down their weapons. Whilst this happened, Silver Tooth tapped his foot against the end of the metal, waiting to go last, probably to watch Takumi and Prince Leon, taking out his small piece of paper again and looking at it. 

“Do you really think it's legal to give out five million in gold?” He asked.

“Probably not sir,” his lieutenant said.

“Hm, well it's worth a shot,” Silver Tooth said, biting his thumb nail and looking up at Takumi, “We’ll bring it tomorrow. These kids are gonna buy me a new tooth.”

“You really think you can get away with this?!” Takumi barked, “You’ll be killed when Hoshido finds out you ba- mgh-!”

A cloth was shoved in his mouth before he could say anything more, and without warning, two of the hunters pushed him forward into the hole. They didn't give him the luxury of taking the ladder, and Takumi felt his insides turn seven different ways when he hit the ground. His hands were still bound, his temples throbbing, and he hardly got a chance to get his bearings together before he had to dive out of the way to avoid getting his spine shattered by Prince Leon, who they tossed in right after him. Prince Leon just groaned, gritting his teeth as the men grabbed them immediately, bringing them to their feet, and when Takumi’s eyes adjusted to the low light, he was suddenly face to face with a massive cavern of tunnels. They were several feet underground, torches lit on the brown and caked walls, vines growing in between the bricks, all leading away from the center chamber they were in. Takumi didn't have time to marvel at the intricateness of it for long, or question the fact of why an underground system of tunnels could exist in such a place. He was yanked back to his feet and pulled forward, his feet stumbling after him as the bounty hunters dragged him into one of the tunnels, ignoring his muffled yells of impedance. 

They swerved this way and that, turning left and right down long, never-ending halls. Takumi couldn't say anything more, the cloth chafing at the corners of his mouth, his throat getting sore from his attempts to fight back. Takumi tried to keep track of where they were going, his eyes blinking through the darkness to count the turnd. Right. Left. Right. No No was it left? No it was right wait- He was lost eventually, shutting his eyes and finally letting them lead him through the tunnels until his feet turned sore, feeling the back of his moccasins tear, the rocks scraping against the ball of his foot. It when then that he had a sudden appreciation for Kamui, who didn't wear any shoes at all. It hurt to walk around with nothing but a strap on your foot, and Takumi knew that for a fact now, seeing as his shoes barely clung to his feet, bumping against the notches in the ground 

After ages, they finally arrived at their cells: two metal cages amidst a long line of one’s identical to them. They tossed him in, Takumi just missing hitting his head on the bucket placed in the end of the room. Prince Leon was tossed into the cell adjacent to him, and he didn't even have time to move before Takumi was on his feet, tearing off the gag and running up against the bars just as they slammed in front of him. 

“You're bastard,” He yelled, “All of you! Once I'm out, I'll kill every single one of you two times over!”

They ignored him, locking the cell with a sharp metal clang, walking back into the hallway, the darkness swallowing them back into the network of tunnels. Anger finally numbed the rest of his feelings, his fists clenching on the bars of the cell, and he slammed his foot into the metal. The cell bars shook on their hinges, his force sending some water sprinkling down from the ceiling.

“Damn!” He shouted, from both the frustration and the pain that laced up his foot like lightning, his shoes providing as much protection as a piece of tissue paper, resorting to hopping around and holding his foot to get his toes to stop pulsing. 

“Resorted to cursing have you,” Prince Leon’s voice mused, “How puerile.”

He was sitting against the wall, not having bothered to stand up, one hand draped over his knee. His face remained stoic, a sort of serene calm seeming to have taken him over, contrasting with the sickliness his skin, his eyes shining like amber in the torchlight.

“Puerile?!”

“Puerile. If you need a definition, it means to act, or behave childishly. Synonyms include immature, foolish, infantile-”

“I know what puerile means!” Takumi interrupted, “And I'm not acting childish!” 

“You obviously don't know what it means” Prince Leon said, “Seeing as you're throwing a tantrum. Like a child.”

“Oh really? Then how am I supposed to be acting?”

“Gracefully. This is a defeat. Accept it with dignity.”

“This is not a defeat,” Takumi snapped, marching towards him, directing his anger toward Prince Leon, “You're just as much at odds with all this as I am. And I'm the one who won at the river remember? I almost dragged you back to Hoshido.” 

“If I had Brynhildr you wouldn't be standing here to tell those words to me,” Prince Leon growled .

“Ha! I've been two steps ahead of you way before then,” Takumi said, “Even if you used your magic on me last night, I still-” 

Last night. Takumi froze, his finger poised midair. The flash of red light. The pain in his right side. His skin burning underneath the stem of his own bow. Prince Leon remained where he was, his dark stare taking on a more sinister look as both of them digested the events of last night, his expression colder than the metal bars between them. 

Takumi mumbled, “...What did you do to me.”

“I could ask you the same question Prince Takumi,” he said, saying the name like a curse on his tongue. Takumi’s head hurt. 

“No- no no you're going to tell me what you did to me now,” he said, taking a step towards the bars, “No more sly comments. Just tell me what the hell you did to me.”

Silence. Takumi glared down at him, yet Prince Leon didn't budge. He didn't answer for a long time, Prince Leon keeping his eyes locked on him as long as he could, like they were part of some sort of staring contest, the first person to blink loses. Takumi wasn't going to let this slip however, and kept his gaze until Prince Leon finally shuttered, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“...Why should I tell you.”

“...Because I’ll tell you what I did to you,” Takumi said.

“You could tell me anything,” Prince Leon said, “As could I. Are you sure you're willing to trust me?”

“No,” Takumi said, “But there's not point right now. It's not like you can do anything in your state right now anyway.” 

“...” Prince Leon remained silent, the steady dripping of the water in their cell filling Takumi’s ears as he watched him. The more time passed, the more the pauses dragged on, the more panic rooted in his heart. Prince Leon looked like he was going to be ill, his eyes shifting, and he looked like if Takumi said anything more he was going to swoon. He looked uncomfortable, ashamed even, and somehow that terrified Takumi more than anything. Whatever he had done to him, it wasn't good. Prince Leon looked more like he was hugging himself after a while instead of crossing his arms, his eyebrows knit, as if mulling the question over. But Takumi didn't have anymore time for mulling. He grabbed the bars between them, the sharp sound they made as they clattered making Leon jump. 

“Just tell me you filthy-!”

“I changed your blood! “ Prince Leon shouted.

The sheer strangeness of the words were enough to make Takumi take a step back. Prince Leo didn't move, his nails digging into the ends of his own arms. Red spilled where Takumi let go of the cell bars, his scabs sticking to the metal and breaking open again, sending trickles of blood down his wrist. He didn't even feel it. 

“Wh- What?” 

“I created a spell yesterday, or the day before that. I can't remember,” Prince Leon continued, massaging his temples, “The King of Nohr assigned me to kill you off,, so I created a spell that could weaken the effects of your dragon blood. Obscure it somehow. Make it so the Fujin Yumi was obsolete in your hands”

The words ran through one ear and out the other. The meaning of them were out of his grasp, seeing too implausible for Takumi to consider as fact, or perhaps he just refused to. The foreign sentences swirled between his eyes. Make the Fujin Yumi obsolete. Obscure it somehow. Weaken the effects of your dragon blood. The more he talked, the more the pieces slowly fell into place, the blood on his hands shining like cherry wine. 

“You ch- changed my blood?” Takumi said, “...What do you mean by that?

“Your divine powers are no longer applicable. The spell covered up any of the effects of the Dawn Dragon.” Prince Leon said, “Think of it as a bleaching spell, where it goes in and wipes your blood clean of any divine influence, so now you are no longer, biologically, a prince. You're just-”

“A human being,” Takumi whispered. 

“...I prefer a less odd way of saying it,” Prince Leon said, “But yes. You now have the worth of the Hoshidan commoner.”

Takumi was going to pass out. Stars seemed to spin in his vision. With those words, he was suddenly stripped of everything. He wasn't the son of dragons anymore. He wasn't part of the Hoshidan lineage at all. His blood was wiped clean. He didn't want to believe it, didn't even want to fathom the possibility of him being stripped of his powers, but the evidence was in his own hands, dripping onto the floor in drops. The burns that struck his skin were no random act of the Fujin Yumi. The Yumi could only be wielded by the son of a dragon to safeguard the weapon’s potential, and anyone else who tried to take its power would meet with a shocking spark of fire. Takumi knew that. Takumi had seen it happen to enemies who had tried to steal it from him in battle and use it against him, attempting to summon the Yumi’s power to protect themselves, only to crumble to the ground in agony, the bow spasming with red. He had thought it funny, their foolishness, but now that he was the one with the bleeding hands, the writhing commoners on the battlefield seemed much more reasonable. 

“No...no this is...this is madness you can't….you don't have the power to-” 

“You know nothing of my power,” Prince Leon said, “You haven't seen the half of it. You're pathetic excuse for a weapon was nothing compared to Brynhildr.”

He got up slowly as he talked, walking towards the bars as quiet and as slick as a shadow until he was standing inches from them. He was taller than him, and in other instances Takumi wouldn't have cared, but something about him made him want to shrink back, Prince Leon towering over him, only a few layers of metal preventing him from releasing whatever vengeance he had on him.

“Now tell me what the hell you did to me.” 

Takumi bit his lip, emotions leaking out onto his face like gutter water. 

“I don't have to tell you anything,” he growled.

“You promised you'd tell me” he shouted, “Grow up and look around. We're in a jail cell at the bottom of god knows where! If you want me to possibly think about letting you out of here with me than you better tell me what pitiful hex you cast on me so I can-”

“The Adder Stone!” Takumi said, spitting the words onto his face, “I used the Adder Stone.”

Prince Leon’s face dropped, his hands falling from the bars. His angry stance seemed to deflate, which Takumi would have thought silly if not for the fear that crossed Prince Leon’s features, the expression far too startling for him to do anything but stare. 

“...You what.”

The smallness of his voice made Takumi want to smile, a hateful pride sprung from all that was happening leaping to the foregrounds of his chest. He didn't though. He didn't know why, he really should have, but instead he crossed his arms.

“I used to Adder Stone,” the boasted.

“The artifact of legend?” Prince Leon said, “The one that could take away all of a   
man’s power by making a wound the size of a papercut?”

“Yep,” Takumi said. 

“How could you have possibly gotten you hands on that?” Prince Leon breathed.

“I- Um-” Takumi said, Ryoma’s blazing eyes flashing in his mind’s eye. He couldn't tell him what really happened. Being shunned by the High Prince of Hoshido wasn't exactly the more heroic cause, “Uh- Prince Ryoma bestowed it upon me. Because he knew I was the only one who could handle the job. After I received it, I forged the stone into an arrow and attached it to the front of the Yumi. All it took was one shot.”

Prince Leon felt his left shoulder unconsciously as soon as Takumi spoke, feeling the wound the arrow had made, his eyes heavy and unfocused as the realization dawned on him the same way it had Takumi. Takumi’s heart was racing, a terrible excitement running through him at the knowledge that he had injured him, that had made him look scared. But he hadn't won. Takumi’s own shoulders couldn't stop shaking, his half smile quivering on his lips. Prince Leon had done the same thing to him. They both were powerless now. Prince Leon didn't say anything for a very long time, staring resolutely at the ground. 

“...I should have guessed that much.” He said finally.

“Guessed what?” Takumi said.

“That you Hoshidans would resort to such violence to win,” Prince Leon said. 

“Don't act like the victim here,’ Takumi yelled, snapping like a twig at the mention of his homeland, jabbing a finger through the bars at Prince Leon’s chest, “You put a hole in me too remember? You invented a whole new spell just to attack me!”

“But you found an object of terrifying power to kill me,” Prince Leon retorted, “You're not innocent of anything either! And now we both don't have our powers and can't escape!”

“Well- I- We-” 

“We fucked up!”

Takumi flinched at the language, looking up at Prince Leon. His hair was a little crooked from his headband, his eyes blazing with an angry fire. His fingers pinched his nose. 

“We fucked up, alright!” Prince Leon shouted again, “And now we're both in this jail cell. And now we're both going to die!”

“Don't say that!” Takumi yelled back, “I can get find a way out!”

“Oh and then what?! Go back to Hoshido without any mark of royalty? I'm the only one who can break that spell, Takumi. I created it. And I don't even have my magic because YOU used the Adder Stone on me!”

“It's not like you're going to be fine either!” Takumi said, “You're going to die from the effects of it anyway! It's not like you can survive long before the war ends! And you just had to create a spell to change my blood. I could have defeated the bounty hunters if you didn't curse me!” 

“So we're both to blame then?!” 

“I guess so!” Takumi said, “I'm still going to mainly blame YOU. Because you're a JERK.”

“That's not going to HELP ANYTHING,” Prince Leon yelled.

“Then what WILL HELP. Please GRACE ME WITH YOUR HUMBLE OPINION.’

“Maybe we should stop SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER, and FIGURE OUT HOW TO SOLVE THIS. Although I doubt there's ANYTHING left in you HEAD that could be of USE to US.”

“FINE,” Takumi said.

“FINE,” Prince Leon said. 

They glared at each other, both of them breathing hard, trembling all over. Takumi felt a lump for in his throat, opening his mouth to yell something back, but nothing came out. They were both in the wrong here. They had both come unspeakable things to each other, and now they were both locked underground, bickering like children. And that's all they were now. Children of a land that would never, ever take them back as leaders. Not without their powers. Tears swelled behind his eyes, Takumi tensing his shoulders, trying to keep eye contact like some sort of staring contest, the first to look away loses. Prince Leon was just as volatile, shaking all over, his shoulder almost weighing him down on his left side, his eyes bloodshot and red. They should be yelling at each other, screaming more, punching each other through. They both knew that. They both knew they had to do something, but as if the same thought crossed between them, after minutes of staring, they finally puffed out their chest and yanked their gazes away from each other, retreating to the opposite walls to deal with their emotions themselves.

_______________________________________

 

He didn't know how much time past before he started moving again. The water running from the cracks in the ceiling were the only thing that kept track of the seconds running past, the small puddle in the corner of the cell rippling with each passing minute. Prince Leon didn't speak, and Takumi wouldn't have answered if he had. He lay with his head propped against the side wall, his heart pounding, trying his damned hardest not to burst into tears. 

His mother had once told him he was going to be invincible. It was when he was younger, when his mother, his old mother, had found him in the middle of the woods, crying over a cut on his hand. She'd took his hand, examining the blood running down it, and told him there was no need for him to cry. This was sacred blood, powerful blood that was much stronger than anyone else’s. This was the blood of a dragon. Thousands of years of warriors ran through his veins, and he was going to become one of them one day. It was his destiny as a Prince of Hoshido. She'd scooped him up in her arms, petting back his hair. Nothing could truly hurt him with all that inside, she had said, not for a long time, and with all that strength, how could he possibly cry?

So what was he going to do if he didn't have that strength?

Salt welled behind his forehead again, making his temples pulse. He wasn't going to cry, not in front of this brat of a prince, not in a place like this. There must be something he could do. No spell was unbreakable. He had to believe that, had to believe that there was something he could do if he wanted his hands to stop shaking. There was something out in this world that could surely break Prince Leon’s spell, and sitting in this jail cell till the end of his days wasn't going to change that. His fists balled, blood clotting under his fingernails, and slowly he got to his feet, his knees wobbling. Prince Leon looked up at him, pulling himself from whatever pool of thoughts he had been in, just in time to watch Takumi throw himself against the cell door. 

BANG!

“Gods!” Prince Leon actually jumped, staring at him in horror as Takumi stumbled back, his pulse beating in his shoulder, “What the hell are you-”

BANG! 

Takumi threw himself against the door again, this time feeling the metal shake slightly under his weight, the lock looking frail and old, shaking around as Takumi found his footing again. Prince Leon was standing, his hands hovering over his ears to prepare himself for Takumi to throw himself against the bars again.

“Have you gone mad?!” Prince Leon yelled, “What are you doing?!”

“Getting out of here,” Takumi grumbled.

BANG! 

With one last push, the lock snapped like a dry twig, skidding across the cobblestone below them. The door swung open, making an equally loud crash when it slammed into the wall behind it. Prince Leon’s hands were over his ears, opening one eye once the noise had stopped. 

“...You're going to alert everyone in the entire Western Hemisphere what we're doing you lunatic!”

“If you keep yelling then I will,” Takumi said, sweat beading along his forehead. He slid out of the cell, taking the door and pulling it closed behind him. He looked back at Prince Leon, still stuffed up in his side of the cell, looking positively livid. Takumi grinned, wiggling his fingers at him.

“Have fun in here for the rest of your days ,” 

“Hey- WAIT-”

Takumi didn't even turn around to look at him, running down one of the tunnels as swiftly as he could. He didn't make it far however. The tunnels were more widely spread out, more parts of it branching off than he had thought before. He began to lose track of how many turns he had taken, torches whizzing past his head, his feet treading like air across the ground. There were too many rights, no, too many lefts, too many straights and u-turns and he could of swore he had passed that patch of moss before. He scrambled through the tunnels like a rat in a maze, feeling along the walls until he ran smack into one of the guards. He was dragged back by his teeth, kicking and yelling as they took him back to his cell, tossing him in on his face the same way he'd come in. They slammed the door behind him, letting Takumi kick at the metal as they replaced the lock, mumbling something about royal asses before turning and leaving, laughing to themselves. Prince Leon was leaning against the bars between them, an almost sort of smile curling onto his lips when they threw Takumi in. 

“...Wow that only took,” Prince Leon’s voice said, tapping his cheek, “Seven and half minutes, if I'm counting correctly. You really are more of an idiot than I calculated.” 

Takumi tasted blood, turning to glare at him. Prince Leon’s back was facing him, his legs crossed, and Takumi took this opportunity to kick him in the small of his spine. Prince Leon only budged slightly. 

“At least I tried,” Takumi slurred. 

“And failed. Like the lunatic you are. You try that again and they'll just change the locks.” 

Takumi’s head was woozy from running, groaning and flopping down on his back, throwing his arms over his face. 

“...Can you just be quiet.” He grumbled, “Whatever anyway. We're never getting out of here. There are too many tunnels. “

Prince Leon’s eyes darted to look behind him, putting him hands on the ground and turning himself around to look at Takumi face to face.

“...Yes...You're right. You couldn't do it yourself. But you made the mistake of taking me with you.”

Takumi raised his arm a little, looking at him from under his arm. 

“I counted how many turns it took to get down here, but lost track when we got close to our cells,” Prince Leon said, “If you could just tell me which ways you went, that would fill in the blanks for me and we could-”

“Oh no,” Takumi said, slowly sitting up, shaking his head, “No No. There's not ‘we’ in this. There's me and there's you. And I'm not working together with the likes of you.”

“Then are you planning to let them sell you on the black market to be a royal plaything for the rest of your life?” 

Takumi shuttered, “Gods but- Even if we theoretically found our way through and theoretically got past the guards, where would we go? You said it yourself we’ll never be accepted back there.” 

“We find the Mage of Trows.”

Takumi’s skin bristled, and suddenly he sat bolt upright. 

“The Mage they mistook you for?!” Takumi said, “What could he do?”

“They said he was the most powerful Mage they'd ever seen, right? And we saw what he could do. Level towns in an instant and things like that” Prince Leon said. He used his hands when he spoke, Takumi watching the gears practically shift in his head, ““Maybe, just maybe, he'd have the power to break the Adder Stone’s influence on me. Then I could break the spell I cast on you.”

Takumi glared at him.

“How do I know you won't just drag me back to Nohr as your prisoner. And how do you know I won't do that to you.”

“If you went back, you'd be even more useless than you were before,” Prince Leon said, “You might be able to pick up a weapon and learn for the rest of the war, but once it's over, you're no longer a Prince. You're just a soldier. And Hoshidan law states that family of biological relations to the Dawn Dragon bloodline can only hold permanent sovereignty over the land.”

“Where did you learn about Hoshidan rule?” Takumi asked. 

“Research,” Prince Leon said, “And if I return to Nohr, I’ll die after a few weeks. Maybe even days. And you need me anyway. Without me, your curse will never be lifted, and your fate will be set in stone. Both of ours will.” 

Prince Leon explained it to him so arbitrarily, as if he were reading lines from a textbook, or telling his secret evil plan. Takumi let his wrists hang around his ankles, his knees pulling to his chest, suddenly feeling very very sick to his stomach. His birthright was held in his hands, an unbreakable spell binding him to his side. The realization sunk in like molasses, Takumi taking in a shaky breath as Prince Leon turned to look at him, his back straightening.

“...Although I would never say these words under any other circumstances, I suggest we form a temporary alliance. Just to find this Mage of Trows to break the spell the Adder Stone placed on me, so I can break my spell on you. Then we return to our respective counties.”

He extended his hand through the metal bars, the gesture oddly intimidating from where Takumi sat. 

“Do we have a deal?”

Takumi swallowed. He didn't have much of a choice, did he? It was go with him, or have both of them be labeled as disgraces across the pages of history. Takumi took the bars, using it to help himself up, reaching out and clasping Prince Leon’s hand in his own.

“Fine,” Takumi said, “Deal.”

“Good,” Leon said, “Now tell me everything you saw on your way out of here.”


End file.
